Michael Rooker, cast member of 'The Walking Dead,' discusses his character's return to the AMC series

Merle Dixon, played by Michael Rooker, returns to "The Walking Dead."Photo courtesy AMC

Merle Dixon is back.

In the first season of “The Walking Dead” Merle was left for dead and had to cut off his own hand when he was left on a roof handcuffed to a drain pipe, with a horde of zombies trying to eat him. He was seen again in the second season when his brother Daryl was hallucinating after being injured.

With his character appearing only in three episodes, Merle left a big mark in the series, says Michael Rooker, who portrays Merle, during a media panel at New York Comic Con.

Rooker says that T-Dog would be dead if it wasn’t for Merle’s antibiotics and Daryl would be walking if not for Merle’s motorcycle.

“I think they all owe Merle a debt of gratitude,” jokes Rooker.

With his return to the show Rooker says that Merle has evolved from when viewers first saw him.

“The guy’s a survivor. He’s going to do whatever he needs to do to survive. I think you're going to like a lot of the shades and changes that have occurred with this guy,” Rooker says.

Michael Rooker, who plays Merle Dixon in "The Walking Dead."AMC Photo

“Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman agrees, saying that Merle is very unpredictable in the way he handles other people, his relationships and where his allegiances lie.

“There is definitely a danger element and edginess to Merle,” says Kirkman.

Kirkman says there was always a plan to bring back the character but it became more of a priority after seeing how Rooker portrayed the character.

“We just didn’t want to leave him the way we left him but once Rooker came in and made that role his own it became much more of an imperative,” Kirkman says.

With his character’s return, Rooker says not to expect a happy reunion with his brother and his former group.

“Who says Merle even wants to be back in the group,” says Rooker. “Merle survives by taking care of himself. Obviously nobody else is doing it for him. They left him handcuffed on a roof with no food, no water.”

As to having to cut off his own hand, Rooker says it wasn’t Merle’s favorite day.

“That’s not a happy moment,” says Rooker. “When we see him next he’s got an apparatus on it that serves me well in the zombie apocalypse.”

The Walking Dead - MerleActor Michael Rooker talks about the return of his character Merle in the third season of AMC's "The Walking Dead."